Required Reading

MEMOIR

Rubies in the Rubble: An Educator’s Transformation from Pain to Prominence, from Abuse to Absolution

Jill Speering (’72), B.S. in Elementary Education

Speering taught for 35 years in elementary education. After retiring from Metro Nashville Public Schools, and after eight years of service on the Metro Nashville Board of Education, she wrote this memoir of her life in education. The first part of the book details Speering’s difficult childhood, which led her to decide to become an educator in order to help students like herself. The second part is about her teaching career, working with inner-city students, teaching them to read through the reciprocal process of writing. Part three focuses on her experience serving on the school board in a directorial role. The important thread that runs through the book is finding rubies in each occurrence in her life and transforming the “rubble” of trauma into “rubies.”

BUSINESS

Artist Management for the Music Business

Paul Allen (’95), M.B.A., Professor, Department of Recording Industry

Allen recently completed the fifth edition of his best-selling book, Artist Management for the Music Business , detailing the mechanics of the music business in 2022 and beyond. The MTSU alum is a Recording Industry professor, music industry executive, concert showcase producer, radio personality, TV news anchor, manager of political candidates, music industry association executive director, artist manager/ consultant, and decorated U.S. Air Force veteran.

HISTORY

Stars Over Tennessee

Lynn McKee Erwin (’68), B.S. in Elementary Education

Erwin, an MTSU alumna who died recently, co-authored a book called Stars Over Tennessee, a compilation of the county sheriffs of Tennessee’s 95 counties beginning in 1776 all the way up to the current individuals dedicated to preserving law and order in the Volunteer State. Carefully researched for more than a decade, the book was co-authored with Erwin’s husband, Tennessee Century Farm owner Ronnie Erwin, and published after her death. All proceeds go to the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association.

INSTRUCTIONAL

Flight Times: Instruction and Inspiration from the 2nd Best Flight Instructor

Paul A. Craig, (’79, '80, '95), B.S., M.Ed., Ed.S., Professor, Department of Aerospace

Craig, an MTSU Aerospace professor and program coordinator for the M.S. in Aeronautical Science, published his 14th book, Flight Times: Instruction and Inspiration from the 2nd Best Flight Instructor, in February 2022. Craig said he wrote the book “both as a way to pass on safety information to current pilots, but also to inspire pilots—never forgetting why we want to fly in the first place.”